How to play backgammon
The game I played between two players. It's a pleasant activity and a great way to spend time, at home or if you are on the go. Backgammon rules don't change no matter where you play the game. Every backgammon set has a sheet with directions that show you how to play and describe all the rules.
Basic rules: Backgammon is a board game of skill for two players. The board consists of twenty-four triangles (points, spaces) and fifteen checkers (pieces or men) for each backgammon player. Each player roll two dice and tries move all his checkers to home board and after that bear off them from the backgammon board. During moving his checkers, player can hit enemy checkers that makes more harder for enemy to move all his checkers to home board.
Object of the game: The object of the game is for each player to bring all his checkers into his home board, and then to bear them off the board. The first player to clear all his checkers off the board is the winner.
Hitting and Entering: In backgammon a point occupied by a single checker of either color is called a blot. If an opposing checker lands on a blot, the blot is hit and placed on the bar. Anytime a player has one or more checkers on the bar, his first obligation is to enter that checker(s) into the opposing home board. A checker is entered by moving it to an open point corresponding to one of the numbers on the rolled dice. For example, if a player rolls 4 and 6, he may enter a checker onto either the opponent` four point or six point, as long as the prospective point is not occupied by two or more of his opponents` checkers. If neither of the points is open, the player loses his turn. If a player is able to enter some but not all of his checkers, he must enter as many as he can and then forfeit the remainder of his turn. After the last of a players` checkers have been entered, any unused numbers on the dice must be played.
Bearing Off: When all of a player's checkers are in his home board, he may remove them from the board, or bear them off. A roll of 1 may be used to bear off a checker from the 1-point, a 2 from the 2-point, etc. A number may not be used to bear off checkers from a lower point unless there are no checkers on any higher points. For example, a 4 may be used to bear off a checker from the 3-point only if there are no checkers on the 4-, 5-, and 6-points.
A checker borne off from a lower point than indicated on the dice still counts as the full dice. For instance, suppose a player has only one checker on his 2-point and two checkers on his 1-point. Then on rolling 1-2, he may move the checker from the 2-point to the 1-point (using the 1 rolled), and then bear off from the 1-point (using the 2 rolled). He is not required to maximize the use of his rolled 2 by bearing off from the 2-point.
If one player has not borne off any checkers by the time his opponent has borne off all fifteen, he has lost a gammon, which counts for twice a normal loss. If a player has not borne off any checkers, and still has checkers on the bar and/or in his opponent's home board by the time his opponent has borne off all fifteen, he has lost a backgammon, which counts for triple a normal loss. Sometimes a distinction is made between pieces in the opponent's home board (triple loss) and pieces on the bar (quadruple loss).
The Doubling Cube: Backgammon is played for an agreed wager (or number of points in the tournament play). During the course of the game, a player who feels he has a sufficient advantage may propose doubling his stakes. He may do so, only at the start of his turn, and before he has rolled the dice. A player who is offered a double may refuse, in which case he concedes the game and pays the original wager. Otherwise, he must accept the double and play on for the new higher stakes. A player who accepts a double becomes the owner of the cube and only he may make the next double. Subsequent doubles in the same game are called redoubles. If a player refuses a redouble, he must pay the wager that was at stake prior to the redouble. Otherwise, he becomes the new owner of the cube and the game continues at twice the previous stakes. Redoubles can increase the original wager by up to 64 times.
Gammons and Backgammons: At the end of the game, if the losing player has borne off at least one checker, he loses only the value showing on the doubling cube (the original wager or one point if there have been no doubles). However, if the loser has not borne off any of his checkers, he is gammoned and loses twice the value of the doubling cube. Moreover, if the loser has not borne off any of his checkers and still has a checker on the bar or in the winners` home board, he is backgammoned and loses three times the value of the doubling cube.
Optional backgammon rules:
- Jacoby Rule
The Jacoby Rule makes gammons and backgammons count for their respective double and triple points only if there has been at least one use of the doubling cube in the game. This encourages a player with a large lead in a game to double, and thus likely end the game, rather than see the game out to its conclusion in hopes of a gammon or backgammon. The Jacoby Rule is widely used in money play, but is not used in match play.
- Automatic Doubles
When Automatic Doubles are used in backgammon, any re-rolls that players must make at the very start of a game (when each player rolls one die) have the side-effect of causing a double. Thus, a 3-3 roll, followed by a re-roll of 5-5, followed by a re-roll of 1-4 that begins the game in earnest, will cause the game to be played from the start with 4-times normal stakes. The doubling cube stays in the middle, with both players having access to it. The Jacoby Rule is still in effect. Automatic Doubles are common in money games (upon agreement). They are never used in match play.
- Beavers
When a player is doubled, he may immediately redouble (beaver) while retaining possession of the doubling cube. The original doubler has the option of accepting or refusing as with a normal double.
- Crawford Rule
The Crawford Rule makes backgammon match play much more fair for the player in the lead. If a player is one point away from winning a match, his opponent has no reason not to double. To remedy this situation, the Crawford Rule requires that when a player becomes one single point short of winning the match, neither player may use the doubling cube for a single game, called the Crawford Game. As soon as the Crawford Game is over, any further games use the doubling cube normally.
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